Love the prayer rap at the end (5 minute mark video below, or audio here) of "Moment of Surrender" on Saturday Night Live last night.
Who can decipher more/fix this?:
"Like this song, your life is short, it's the longest thing you''ll ever do/
the worse the curse was that your dreams came true/
God is a mirror in which each man sees himself/
Hell is place where you don't need anyone's help..
..When I first met you, your face was like snow
Wherever i went to, you wanted to go
Your face, Your grace, Your can of mace, in cases you put your face down
A-17 on the ground/your faith in a (clown? cloud?)
Don't leave me now, don't leave me now, don't leave me now Lord, in this song...
don't leave me alone in this song"
On the snow reference, see this...also a reference to "Acrobat."
All the videos from SNL are here;already been booted off YouTube..
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Later addition: see Keith's comments below (in the comments section below this post) about the Rose Bowl version.
Here is video (you may have to hit the start button twice):
Like this song, your life is short, it's the longest thing you''ll ever do/
ReplyDeletethe worse the curse was that your dreams came true/
God is a mirror in which each man sees himself/
Hell is A place where you don't need anyone's help..
..When I first met you, your face was like snow
Wherever i went to, you wanted to go
Your face, Your grace, YOUR can of mace, in cases you put your face down
A-17 on the ground/your faith in a cloud
Don't leave me now, don't leave me now, don't leave me now Lord, in this song...
don't leave me alone in this song"
At least that's what I hear.
Thanks SB, i agree and edited.
ReplyDeleteI am not positive about the "now, Lord" ..it may be "a-lone". But I'll keep it up as wishful thinking (:
On cloud..most are still hearing clown. Soem hear crown. Bono has quoted Catholic writer on the holy fool/prophetic clown role of Jesus...that may be whatsup
Dave - I was at the Rose Bowl show last night and re-listened to the YouTube live feed again today. Here's what I just transcribed after listening again (and using the pause button):
ReplyDelete"...it's the longest thing you'll ever do/reverse the curse was that your dreams came true/God is a mirror where a changed man sees himself/Hell is a place where you don't need any help/When I first met you, your face was like snow/where I went your feet wanted to go/Your face, your grace, your lipstick case/your case as you put it down/8:17 on the ground/Your faith in a clown/Don't leave me now/don't leave me now"
Honestly this lyric and the way Bono sings it troubled me. There were a few other places in the set where he seemed to get very overwhelmed by emotion - something he rarely did even when his father was dying.
He also says, at the very end - "I hope this isn't the end" and then to the crowd, "Don't leave us now".
It makes me want to pray for him and his wife, and for what they may be going through.
I'm pretty sure that 'A17/8.17' is actually 'Aged 17', which seems to make more sense in the context of the rest of the lines.
ReplyDeleteHowever, respectfully, I think you're reading far too much and too literally into the performance of this at the Rose Bowl. If Bono really is having the problems that you imply, I would hope he wouldn't be touring and hinting at in song.
The 'Don't leave us now' line was almost a throwaway, as a kind of continuation of 'Don't leave me now'.
I don't know if Bono was more emotional than usual, but he's an emotional performer in general. And if he was, it could also have something to do with the death of the person he paid tribute to in 'One'.
Keith and LC:
ReplyDeleteAl i cans say is I have been following U2 and U2 concerts intensely since 1980..
and my first thought watching the concert on YouTube is "something is wrong w/Bono". My wofe caught it too.
Obviously, his voice was not in great shape, and he may have been sick, and how about the pressure of the worldwide telecast. I have been watching U2 concerts for decades and he was acting weird, not himself.
It was a very different kind of emotional the other night.
Keith, I was to be at that concert, but my wife had gall bladder surgery, so didn't make it.
On the 817/A 17/age 17, it's hard to tell...but since he has done the rap a few times now, I wonder of he is taking on the character in the song (he has said it is a drug addict finding redemption in a motel)...and the 8:17 would make sense as originally every song on the album had a time reference.
The "don't leave us now" was highly unusual and freaked me, too. If the whole rap is more to Ali (which the change to 'lipstick' would support) than a prayer, and the last ommment to the audience, hmmm
he also said a bit later to the crowd what sounds like "hope this is not the end"
ReplyDeletehttp://forum.atu2.com/index.php/topic,9127.new.html#new
video (skip to end):
http://davewainscott.blogspot.com/2009/10/luckily-we-dont-believe-in-luck-grace.html
I have a theory about the 8:17 reference. There are several reports of the J-333 and 3:33 reference linking to Jeremiah 33:3 which says
ReplyDelete"Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know."
I think he might be building on this with the 817 reference from Luke 8:17 which says
"For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open."
Life is short…it’s the longest thing you’ll ever do
ReplyDeleteThe worst, the curse was that your dreams come true
God is a mirror where a virtuous man sees himself
Hell is a place where you don’t need any help
When I first met you, your face was like snow
Wherever I went your feet wanted to go
Your face, your grace, your lipstick case
Your case as you put it down
Age 17 on the ground
Your faith in a clown
Don’t leave me now
Alone in this song
Don’t leave me now
Alone in this song
I would venture an as yet unspoken theory that Bono is in fact saying "8:17 on the ground - your faith in a clown" as a reference to 1.) the approximate start time of the concert..? 2.) the clown as himself.
ReplyDeletePicture - it's 8:17, the crowd is on the crowd, ready for 'Space Oddity' and lift off with 'King of your Love' and the drum roll of 'Breathe.' Everyone's enthralled. In keeping with the themes explored in 'Stand Up Comedy' (sadly unplayed as yet) perhaps Bono is here having a go at the idea that people place faith in rock stars who, despite pomp and circumstance, are essentially clowns.
2nd crowd = ground
ReplyDeleteKing of Your Love = Kingdom of Your Love.
It's late. Typos. Bah.
Thanks, all.
ReplyDeleteTowers,,yeah, one of the first things i did was scour the 8:17s in Scripture, hmm
It's a father talking to his daughter.. He often does this through lyrics. He knows alot (maybe too much), sometimes life is easier to live when you know less. The truth can be a lonely secret.
ReplyDeleteBasicly his daughter is growing up, gone 17 and moving on. Maybe that's why he ends it with 'don't leave us now' meaning don't leave me and your mum now because your the one thing that could keep us together. Which makes sense of singing this after 'Moment of Surrender'.
Thanks, that's a fascinating take.
ReplyDeleteDid he say that in an interview?
Life is short, it's the longest thing you'll ever do
ReplyDeleteThe worse, the curse, that your dreams came true
God is a miracle that teach man to see himself
Hell is a place where you don't need any help
When I first met you your face was like snow
Where ever I went, you wanted to go
Your face, your grace, your lipstick trace
Your case as you put it down, 817 on the ground
Your faith in a clown
Don't leave me now
Oh, only son, don't me now
The Bible refers to God's clothing as "snow." Daniel 7:9.
ReplyDeleteThanks, that's an interesting Bible reference.
ReplyDeleteIt also references an older U2 song, "Acrobat" in which the narrator addresses a female (Interesting connection to the female in the rap):
------------
If you just close your eyes
You can feel the enemy
When I first met you girl
You had fire in your soul
What happened your face
Of melting in snow
Now it looks like this
-----------
Keep those comments coming
8:17 -- try Daniel 8:17 "As he came near the place where I was standing, I was terrified and fell prostrate. “Son of man,”[a] he said to me, “understand that the vision concerns the time of the end.”
ReplyDeletefits with the rest of the lyric.
Did anyone else hear 'crowd' rather than cloud or crown? This makes the most sense to me. Really like the aged 17 and refernce to daughter, but another site talked about an interview with Bono that said it was about a veteran who was throwing his life away until he collapses
ReplyDeleteHey Evans. I appreciate the conversation...knowing Bono, he just might change it up and say "crowd" sometimes...and that makes sense..but it sure seems like "clown" wins in this clip below:http://davewainscott.blogspot.com/2011/06/bono-dont-lose-your-faith-in-this-holy.html
ReplyDelete